Collecting numismatic items that depict horse-drawn vehicles is one means by which a collector may explore a topical interest, and one that may include coins that are more than 2,000 years old.

Topical collecting involves selecting a specific theme and seeking numismatic items that fit that theme. The horse-drawn vehicles theme may not only encompass coins, but can include tokens, medals, paper money, stock certificates and other numismatic collectibles.

Ancient Greek and Roman coins are the first numismatic items to bear images of vehicles pulled or otherwise moved by horsepower. The biga, a chariot pulled by two horses, and the quadriga, a chariot pulled by four horses, are common themes for the reverses of many Greek and Roman issues. Depending on condition and rarity, specimens may be obtained in a price range from much less than $100 to thousands of dollars.

A moderately inexpensive piece is a Roman Republican silver denarius of Manius Aquillius, 109 to 108 B.C., depicting a radiate head of Sol, right, on the obverse, and Luna in a biga, right, on the reverse. A VF specimen could be acquired for under $150.

Priced somewhat higher is a silver didrachm, or quadrigatus, struck circa 225 to 212 B.C., depicting a laureate head of Janus on the obverse, with the reverse exhibiting Jupiter in a quadriga right, driven by Victory, with Jupiter holding a thunderbolt in his right hand and scepter in his left. A "good VF" specimen could run about $1,000, depending on the variety.

Renderings of quadrigas and bigas can also be found on Greek coinage. An example of one of these coins is a silver Greek tetradrachm of Agathokles, Sicily, Syracuse, struck circa 310 to 305 B.C. It features a wreathed head of Artemis-Arethusa facing left, the reverse depicting a charioteer driving a quadriga left while holding a kentron (pointed stick used to drive animals) and reins. Such a specimen, in "Good Very Fine," would retail for more than $2,200.

Another example is a gold stater of Philip II, king of Macedon, struck circa 323 to 319 B.C. under Philip III, depicting a laureate head of Apollo, right, on the obverse, while the reverse captures a charioteer driving a biga right. A "good VF" specimen of the stater would retail for approximately $2,000.

Some modern coin issues, most of which are inexpensive, also bear horse-drawn vehicle motifs.

A 1992 Canadian silver dollar's reverse depicts a horse-drawn coach-style sleigh pulled by a team of four horses. The coin marks the 175th anniversary of the first stagecoach service between Kingston and York in January 1817.

In 1976, the Isle of Man issued a crown-sized commemorative coin in copper-nickel whose reverse marks the 100th anniversary of the horse-drawn tram.

The centennial anniversary of the Singapore Fire Service was honored in 1988 with the release by the Singapore Mint of an Uncirculated copper-nickel $5 coin showing horses pulling a fire wagon.

Britannia depicted as a charioteer first appeared on the reverse of the 1-ounce silver British Britannia bullion coin when the silver coin was introduced in 1997. It was a Proof only silver issue. It was also used in 1997 on the four gold Proof versions comprising the four-coin set celebrating the 10th anniversary of the gold Britannia. The same chariot design was used again in 1999 on Uncirculated Britannia silver coins.

As part of its transportation series in 1984, Cuba produced a 1-peso coin depicting a horse-drawn carriage, with the horse carrying a mounted rider.

At Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., one of the dies used for pressing elongated coins depicts a horse-drawn carriage.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority released a Proof silver $2 commemorative coin in recognition of Queen Elizabeth II's 70th birthday April 21, 1996. The reverse of each coin depicts the queen being driven by horse-drawn landau in the city of Hamilton during her official visit in 1953. The design is based on an original photograph retained at the Bermuda Archives. The landau, pulled by Black Bess and Black Beauty, horses from the Government House stables, was driven by William Charles Whayman. View the coin online at www.bma.bm/bmawww.nsf/ WebPages/1996QueensBirth day?OpenDocument.

The 125th anniversary of the horse-drawn tram in Brno is commemorated on a 1994 200-koruna coin issued by the Czech Republic. View the coin online at www.cnb.cz/en/plat_num_psm.php.

In 2000, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a $200 silver holographic commemorative depicting on its reverse a horse-drawn buggy converted to steam power. In 1867, visitors to a fair in Stanstead, Québec, dismissed the buggy as a "mechanical curiosity," but Henry Seth Taylor persevered and perfected his invention. He used his steam buggy regularly until it was damaged and stored away in the family barn.

Rediscovered in 1960, the H.S. Taylor Steam Buggy is considered Canada's first automobile. View the coin online at www.nmh-mynt.a.se/Can2000.htm.

Tokens and medals

Horse-drawn vehicles may also be found as devices on mid- to late 19th century transportation tokens, specifically those used to pay the fares for passage on horse-drawn trolleys or trams before the advent of gasoline-powered vehicles.

The Atwood-Coffee Catalogue of U.S. and Canadian Transportation Tokens by John Coffee Jr. and Harold V. Ford discusses and illustrates many of these tokens. Collectors interested in these issues should check with token and medal dealers, some of whom advertise in the pages of Coin World, or contact the organization for transportation token collectors, the American Vecturist Association, Box 961207, Boston, MA 02196-1207.

A number of medals have horse-drawn vehicle themes.

For its 40th anniversary in 1935, the Vacuum Oil Co. in Victoria, Australia, produced a commemorative medal marking progress in transportation with the obverse showing the god Mercury flying to the right on winged feet.

Behind him above the date 1895 are a horse-drawn vehicle and a man on a penny-farthing bicycle. In front of him above the date 1935 are a current model car and aircraft. View the medal online at www.muse um.vic.gov.au/coins/1934/vacu um_oil_medal.html.

Since 1928, the obverse of every Olympic medal has featured a picture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, sitting in a horse-drawn chariot and holding a laurel wreath above her head. It also shows a Roman amphitheatre. The designs were changed for the 2004 medals, on which the winged goddess, without a chariot, is superimposed on the obverse over an empty ancient Olympic coliseum with the Parthenon in the background.

A frosted silver Proof medal from New Zealand inscribed with the date Dec. 7, 1977, was issued privately to commemorate the firefighting appliances of the 19th century in that country.

The medal's obverse features a dramatic scene of a horse-drawn fire engine rushing down a dockland street toward a burning building.

The private Lombardo Mint in 1970 issued a medal celebrating the Calgary Stampede in Canada. The obverse features a Conestoga-style wagon being pulled by a team of four horses.

The Northwest Territorial Mint in Auburn, Wash., produced a series of medals in 2002 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Wells Fargo & Co. The medals, depicting the stagecoach line in service on the obverse, can be viewed online at www.nwtmint.com/nextstep/ wells_fargo/wells_fargo.htm.

Paper money, stocks

Many examples of obsolete U.S. currency and foreign notes, some still used in circulation today, bear vignettes depicting horse-drawn vehicles. Collectors also may consider stock certificates and bonds that bear vignettes featuring horse-drawn vehicle designs.

A stagecoach rushing to deliver mail can be found in a vignette that appears on the face of a 19th century obsolete $50 note from the First National Bank of Idaho.

Many nonfederal obsolete notes from the United States depict vignettes showing horse-drawn vehicles, including buckboards, hay and cotton wagons, and other vehicles used in agricultural operations.

The Bahamas issued a number of series of $20 notes incorporating vignettes of a covered surrey pulled by a single horse on either the face or back of the note.

The $20 notes issued by the Central Bank of the Bahamas beginning in 1985 incorporate a vignette of a horse-drawn surrey with the proverbial fringe on top. The backs of some earlier $20 notes also depict a surrey.

A Series 1914 10-yuan note from Shanghai, China, printed by the American Bank Note Co., New York, features an intricate harbor scene with a ship, a smoke-puffing train and horse-drawn carriage on the face.

Sweden depicts a horse-drawn carriage on the face of a Series 1997 20-kronor note.

Stock certificates for the United States Car Stock Co. in 1894 feature a vignette depicting Locomotive No. 11 in front of a farm scene, complete with a horse-drawn carriage. The certificate was printed by New York stationer Charles A. Searing.

As an ancillary addition to a topical collection of horse-drawn vehicles, AllPosters.com offers posters depicting horse-drawn currency wagons used to transport freshly printed United States paper money. The posters can be viewed online at www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=64901&item=875203.